So you know the Chipmunks and their super-squeaky voices? The way they did that was, they had regular dudes sing at a normal pitch, but really slowly. When they pitch the whole thing up (think fast-forward), you get the iconic Chipmunk sound. Got it? OK, so they had to record the backing track normally, then slow it down to let the regular dudes sing their parts slow. So this guy has been slowing the backing tracks down again, which results in, well… this. Super-laconic, slightly creepy, and very much not like the chipmunks. It’s called sludgepop. Sometimes it has very interesting results, like when they cover Michael Jackson (check out more tracks here). It’s a strange kind of cultural anthropology or something. So… Merry Christmas!

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James Brown Live at Hollywood Palace (1968)

Certain artists show up and completely change the game. I remember feeling that way about Lauryn Hill, for example. She sounded like she was shaking the cobwebs out of several tropes and making them all fresh again. She was a perfect artist for that particular time. I suspect it was the same when James Brown showed up. It’s like he took everything people were trying with soul, funk, r&b, and rock & roll, and made it all click in a surprising new way. And his dancing… good lord.